Nikon D600 Review

Nikon D600 Review

by Shawn Barnett, Andrew Alexander, Mike Tomkins and Zig Weidelich
Hands-on Preview posted 09/13/2012
Review posted 12/13/2012

Signaling the dawn of the affordable full-frame digital SLR camera, the Nikon D600 features a 24.3-megapixel FX CMOS sensor, an optical viewfinder with ~100% coverage, a 3.2-inch 921K-dot LCD, and dual SD card slots for US$2,100, body-only. It's true, $2,100 isn't exactly cheap, but it's more affordable than the $3,000 Nikon D800, and not much more than the long-in-the-tooth D300S, which cost about $300 less at launch. Shoot with a full-frame SLR and you learn: you really want to shoot full-frame. Is the D600 Nikon's answer for D300S shooters? Don't wait for the D400, upgrade to the D600 now?

For those who thought the D800's 36.3-megapixel sensor was overkill, the Nikon D600 hits the sweet spot. Its 24.3-megapixel sensor covers an extended ISO range from 50 to 25,600. With a pixel-pitch similar to the Nikon D3X, we expect good quality at high ISO settings, and that's one of the primary reasons to spend a little more on a full-frame camera: greater light gathering ability.

If you've been eyeing the D800, much of the D600's specs will seem less-than. But it's important to remember the Nikon D600 was designed to be a little more consumer friendly, leaving off a few features here and there, and including things like Scene modes. Think of the Nikon D600 as a D7000 with a full-frame sensor.

The Nikon D600 is noticeably smaller than a D800, and weighs less as well. Measurements are 5.6 x 4.4 x 3.2 inches, and weight is 26.8 ounces (760g) without lens or battery. Compare that to 5.7 x 4.8 x 3.2 inches and 31.7 ounces (900g) for the D800, and you can see the Nikon D600 is a bit shorter and about five ounces (140g) lighter.

The Nikon D600 still seems tall, probably due to that big, bright pentaprism behind the Nikon logo. Anyone who knows the D7000 will recognize the control layout, particularly the position of the two function buttons, one just right of the grip, the other lower-left of the lens mount (on the pro cameras, these two buttons are inline with one another between the grip and lens mount). By default a Depth-of-field preview button, this latter button can also be programmed to serve other functions. The inclusion of the Sub-command dial on the front indicates this is a prosumer camera. The shiny lens to the right of the shutter button houses the AF-assist lamp. The upper right corner has an infrared port, holes for the microphone, and the flash release button. Down beneath the lens release button is the Focus mode selector, with an AF-mode button in the center.

Unlike the company's consumer SLRs, the Nikon D600 still includes support for legacy lenses, with both a screw drive to handle old, body-driven AF lenses and the Meter coupling lever for reading the aperture settings of even older lenses.

Except for the center lock button, the Nikon D600's Mode dial on the left could be lifted from the D7000, while pro cameras like the D800 and up have a cluster of buttons in this position. Beneath the Mode dial is the Drive mode dial. On the right, the D600's status LCD is a little larger than the D7000's, but the general controls are the same, with the Metering mode and EV-compensation buttons and the Power switch surrounding the Shutter button. What's new is the small Movie Record button tucked just behind the Shutter button.

From the back you get a better view of the Drive mode dial. A press on the far left button releases the dial's lock. Nikon's included one more button left of the LCD, and swapped the others around a bit. Below the 8-way Multi-selector, Nikon's placed the Still/Movie switch and Live view button, borrowing the design from the D800. Info button and speaker are below that, along with the rear infrared port and card access lamp.

Overall it's an interesting admixture of controls from the D800 and D7000, laid out comfortably. The Rear status display seems to have most of what you'd want within easy reach, including quick access to the 39 autofocus points, ISO settings, Resolution and Compression, basic exposure information and battery status, among other things.

Nikon D600 Field Test

by Shawn Barnett

It's confirmed: I love shooting the Nikon D600. I was able to get a few decent shots with the 24-85mm kit lens, the only lens Nikon provided, the night we received our review camera, as well as two ISO series. I didn't have my tripod so a few shots were a little soft, as I relied on posts and rails to stabilize, but so many of the shots were handheld thanks to the D600's very high ISO capability. One series is below; another is in the Gallery.

As I walked around New York, I let the ISO float in Auto mode most of the time, and the Nikon D600 was equal to the challenge.

This scene was darker than it seems here, but I like the result. ISO 25,600 delivered a good shot, and steady handholding combined with IS made a clear image without a tripod. Autofocus also worked as if the scene were daylight.

The lovely parked-bicycle cliche is easy to achieve in NYC; paired with a well-known logo and brand, and reasonable darkness on this street made for a nice contrasty image; again, handheld at 1/50 second.

I like the idea of this large predator bird swooping in to grab a nice yellow treat just off Times Square.

A pair of spires rise above human pairs in Central Park's rowboats.

I came across this bride getting made up for wedding pictures. I'd have popped up the flash for a bit of fill, but didn't want to annoy the actual photographer capturing the moment from a different angle. The raw image would give me plenty of leeway to tweak if I wanted to.

I liked how these branches seemed to grow just right to frame this church steeple, waiting for me to walk by and look up.

I had to chuckle at this couple who rowed to this spot to get away from the crowd of other boaters only to find me and two other people waiting to take their picture. "Say, 'Privacy!'"

I very likely creeped people out crouching here in the shadows, but I wanted to wait for just the right person to come through for an interesting silhouette, and this guy was it. Sadly the couple in the rear is in focus, while my elderly gentleman is slightly out of focus, partially from motion blur. But if you download and adjust the levels, you can see the amount of detail left in the shadows -- even out of focus, it's pretty impressive.

The main reason I show and talk about all these images is I liked how the Nikon D600 let me think about my composition and not the camera. That's the kind of camera it is, and why Nikon made it the way they did. It doesn't have to be complicated to enjoy the fruits of a full-frame digital SLR.

More like the D7000 than the D800, the Nikon D600 is tuned more for the consumer shooter, yet it still offers most of the controls a more serious photographer would want, right out front. Since I tend to shoot cameras in the mode the average target buyers are likely to use, I spent most of my time in Program and Aperture-priority modes, and the Nikon D600 handled most scenes quite well. I like the ease of having dials for Drive and Exposure modes, but it's a little different shooting with the D600 having just come from using the D800. Still, the controls I'd look for on the top deck are instead on the back. It's not as easy to adjust them, because you have to first look at the buttons on the back, then switch to the top deck LCD to make your adjustments, but it becomes second nature after a short time.

As much as I like the D7000, the Nikon D600 stands out as a great intermediate photographer's tool. It has the same versatility as the D7000, but with a larger body, a larger sensor, and that big, beautiful viewfinder. Mirror blackout time is fast, allowing a quick return to your subject, which is very important to me, especially when I'm working on portraits.

But enough of what I think, let's read what Andrew Alexander, our SLRgear editor and pro Nikon shooter, thought of the D600.

Nikon D600 Field Test

by Andrew Alexander

I had the opportunity to shoot with the Nikon D600 for just over a week in a combination of casual and professional shooting. The D600 is Nikon's entry-level FX (full-frame) digital camera. As such it has many features that attempt to make shooting simpler for the average user. At its most basic level, the D600 offers a basic Auto mode, which lets the camera take care of absolutely everything. For the more discriminating user, there are 19 scene modes: everything from basic Portrait and Landscape modes, to Autumn Colors, Food and Party mode, allowing the user to tailor the D600's settings to a particular event. More advanced users will be accustomed to Nikon's professional shootings modes (Program / Aperture Priority / Shutter Priority / Manual).

Design. The Nikon D600 takes some of its design features from the Nikon D800 and others from the Nikon D7000, with a few alterations. Nikon is still making up its mind regarding the placement of buttons, and this lack of consistency may confuse people who use different camera bodies on a shoot.

The function buttons mounted on the front of the camera are useful in theory, but it's a challenge for me to stretch my pinky finger to consistently hit the lower one. The D3 and D4 series have this secondary function button placed within perfect reach of my ring finger; why can't the D600? The mode selector dial was apparently a problem on the D7000 (nothing would stop it from accidentally rotating), so while the D600 has borrowed the same design, it's improved upon it by adding a release button which you must depress to turn the dial. This design works well, and otherwise, the layout is the same as the D7000.

One unfortunate omission is that the OK button in the center of the multi-selector is not user-configurable in playback mode. (In shooting mode, it selects the center focus mode by default, but can be programmed to highlight the active focus point, or do nothing at all.) In more expensive models, you can choose what happens in image review mode when you press this button: for example, the button can be set to give me 100% magnification, so one can quickly review focus (or lack thereof). In the D600, it helpfully brings me to the Image Retouching mode, and there is no option to change it to do anything else.

Despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed the feel of the D600: it's light and rests easily in my hand. When I used the camera, a battery grip wasn't yet available, and I would certainly welcome one, both for the extra battery life and the vertical grip.

Live view - the story continues. Nikon continues to change its mind on how it implements Live view. Live view was first introduced on the shooting mode dial of the D3. The function was then given its own dedicated button press in the D3s; the D90 changed this function to use a twist-to-activate design, which has been present in every model up to the D7000. The Nikon D600 changes it back again: a small switch lets you select between Movie Live View mode and Live View photography mode, and the button surrounded by this switch puts the camera into Live View mode.

Live view implementation on the Nikon D600 is still a bit clunky. Try taking a photo in Movie mode, for example, and the camera will exit Live view, focus, take the photo, and re-enter movie mode. Once you do it a few times you figure it out. I especially like the dedicated movie shooting button near the regular shutter release, as it feels a bit more intuitive there.

Speedy and responsive. In general, I was very impressed with the performance of the D600. I use a Nikon D3 for my day-to-day shooting, and have also shot with D3s, D3x and D700 camera bodies. The D600 represents something of a panacea for many Nikon shooters: 24 megapixels in an affordable D700-style body. All Nikon bodies in the prosumer and professional range are shooting-priority cameras; pressing the shutter button will always take the camera out of whatever menu or setting you are currently looking at and strive to take a photograph. The camera also turns on very quickly, with no delay. It is ready to shoot when you are.

I had imagined that Nikon might have cut a corner or two to make the D600 more economical, and that it might not be as responsive as its professional siblings. I was surprised it was as responsive as my D3 in everyday use, having no trouble quickly acquiring focus and metering very accurately.

Still, it's hard to make a camera at this price point without some compromises, and there were a few points where I encountered some sluggishness. Zooming in with the Live view mode selected to a magnification greater than 100% resulted in a noticeable drop in performance (the image being viewed seems to slow down). Also, using the D600 with a slower SD card (Nikon recommends a class 10 card) can produce some sluggishness: Reviewing photographs as the buffer is being written out essentially locks up the camera in this case. When using a class 10 card, the delay is miniscule. Very occasionally, calling up the menu would result in a delay of a second or two before it appeared, though this was something I could not reproduce on a regular basis. While none of these situations is a deal-breaker, it is worth noting.

Sync speed slow? One point that has been remarked upon is the sync speed of the Nikon D600: it's slower than its brethren, at 1/200 of a second. While I may long for the days of the D70, with its 1/500 of a second sync speed, I certainly didn't find an occasion in or out of the studio where a little more power or the use of FP mode didn't see me through. If I really needed the extra speed, I probably needed more camera, such as the D800.

Quiet shutter. I shoot a lot of theater, so one of the first things that surprised me was how quiet the shutter was in comparison to other cameras I shoot with. While this may mean that the shutter is not as durable as more pro-level camera bodies (the D600 is rated for 100,000 cycles), it was very useful for shooting in a theater where you don't necessarily want to be heard.

ISO Auto perfected. Nikon has had an automatic ISO selection mode available in its cameras all the way back to the D100, and has made refinements to the operation of that mode ever since. It's not a mode I usually employed because I found I didn't always agree with the choice the camera made, however, I'm pleased to report that the D600 has added some excellent improvements to the ISO Auto mode.

The first is that a button-plus-dial combination now allows you to turn ISO Auto on and off rather than having to do so from the camera menu. Specifically, you can press the ISO button to the left of the LCD and rotate the sub-command dial to accomplish this. This is an extremely welcome change because it allows the shooter to enable or disable automatic ISO selection without having to remove the eye from the viewfinder.

The second improvement is that in addition to allowing the shooter to select the minimum shutter speed the camera will seek to use, Nikon has added an "AUTO" setting. This setting is a long overdue implementation of the "one over focal length" rule of thumb. If you're not familiar with this shooting suggestion, it basically provides that in order to ensure you get a sharp image, you should choose a shutter speed that is the inverse of the focal length you're shooting with. So if you're shooting with a 200mm lens, you should select a shutter speed of at least 1/200 of a second. Nikon's AUTO mode in ISO-Auto does just this, as long as you're using a CPU-enabled lens, or have entered the focal length information for a non-CPU lens. Nikon even allows for users to fine-tune the auto setting: if you find you need to shoot with a slightly faster shutter speed to get sharp images, you can dial this in.

A load on the buffer. It's worth noting that using ISO-Auto, or in fact many of the camera's shooting menu options such as auto distortion control, vignetting control, D-Lighting, High-ISO Noise Reduction, et cetera, can reduce the number of images you can shoot in a continuous burst:

This number just shows what the camera reports as the available number of shots before shooting begins: the speed of the card you're using greatly influences what will actually be the case. When I used a class 10 SDHC card, the buffer said I would only get nine shots, but I actually got around 15 shots before there was any kind of shooting slow down.

High Dynamic Range. Generally, a camera is only so successful in its ability to record a scene which has both very bright and very dark elements: one of those two will get left behind. To get around this limitation, the Nikon D600 has a new mode for High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, taking two photographs at slightly different exposures, and merging them together. The HDR mode function allows the shooter to select the range of exposure to be captured (from one to three stops of difference, or AUTO, which lets the camera decide based on the scene), and whether it's just the next photograph that will be in HDR mode (single photo) or all subsequent photographs (series). You can also select the amount of smoothing the camera will use when blending the two images together - High, Normal, or Low.

It's not clear which of the shooting variables (aperture, shutter speed or ISO sensitivity) the D600 is changing between exposures, so HDR purists may stick to tried-and-true methods rather than using the built-in HDR mode. The results are fairly compelling, though: Even without a tripod, I captured some striking images.

Movie Live View mode. Nikon was late to the party putting Full HD video on DSLR cameras, and it continues to try to make up for lost time. The D600 adds many important features that have been lacking in previous models, and for the first time we see a camera that might actually give Canon's indie filmmaker favorite, the 5D mark II, a run for its money. Movies can be recorded at Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format, with either a 24Mbps or 12Mbps bitrate, depending on the level of quality chosen.

The actual implementation of Movie recording seems a bit hard-wired, and it's not clear if it is for technical reasons or to keep from cannibalizing D800 sales. For example, you can't change the lens aperture during movie recording; however, you can change shutter speed and ISO sensitivity (the D800 has no such limitation). You can change aperture during Live view photography mode.

My optimistic view of this implementation is that Nikon wants to simplify the experience for its D600 users. That said, older AI/AIS lenses have absolutely no problem adjusting aperture during movie recording (you just turn the aperture ring); newer AF lenses won't work this way, they produce an "EE" error.

Nikon has also improved its audio recording in the D600. The first important change is that the D600 now includes a 3.5mm audio output jack, which can be used to attach headphones for monitoring audio quality. Until now, if you wanted to check sound, you had to shoot a clip, then remove the memory card and play it back on a computer. Or, you could take your chances by listening to the tinny mono speaker.

Nikon has also added some on-screen audio levels in two important locations. The first is during movie recording, which is useful, and these levels show red warning points if the audio is too hot. However, there is no in-camera way to adjust the volume during recording: you have to stop recording, and adjust.

The second place audio levels show up is in the Movie Settings selection of the Shooting Menu. The shooter can adjust how loud or quiet the recorded sound will be, either automatically (where the camera will boost the volume in quiet settings, and reduce it in loud settings), or on a scale from 1 to 20 to fine-tune based on the camera's environment. There is no indication of what this scale actually represents, but it is nice to have, so you can see exactly what level of sound you are about to record.

The Nikon D600 includes an HDMI video output, and the LCD will continue to display when an HDMI device is attached. Unfortunately, composite video is no longer supported, so if you want to use an external video monitor, it will have to be HDMI.

Visit our Nikon D600 Video page for sample videos and more details.

Appraisal. The best part of the Nikon D600 is that at its core, it is an excellent still-image camera, with an impressive number of extra features built-in; the 24-megapixel full-frame imager is the primary reason for getting this camera, and the image quality does not disappoint. Using a high ISO setting used to mean that you would roll up your sleeves after capture and salvage what you could with noise reduction software. While the D600 may not match the ultra-clean images produced by the D3s or D4 cameras at high ISO settings, its images are very good indeed. And if you don't need to push the sensitivity, you are rewarded with ultra-clean, huge images. With 24 megapixels, you can print a massive 13 x 19-inch image without any resizing.

By choosing a price point of just over US$2,000, Nikon has signaled that they want to move a lot of these cameras; and indeed, most of the Nikon photographers I know who had been waiting for an entry-level full-frame camera have lined up to buy one. Sometimes, bigger, better and faster comes with a compromise, but in this case, the D600 delivers - and does so at an extremely reasonable price.

Nikon D600 Technical Info

by Mike Tomkins

Nikon D600 Image Quality Comparison

Below are crops comparing the Nikon D600, Nikon D800, Nikon D3X, Canon 5D Mark III, Sony A99 and Sony NEX-7.

NOTE: These images are best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction. All cameras in this comparison were shot with our very sharp reference lenses.

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D800 at ISO 100

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D3X at ISO 100

Nikon D600 versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 100

Nikon D600 versus Sony A99 at ISO 100

Nikon D600 versus Sony NEX-7 at ISO 100

Most digital SLRs and CSCs will produce an excellent ISO 100 shot, so we like to push them and see what they can do compared to other cameras at ISO 1,600, 3,200, and 6,400. Recent advances in sensor technology have made ISO 1,600 look a lot more like ISO 100, but there are still cameras whose quality starts to fall apart at this setting. We also choose 1,600 because we like to be able to shoot at least at this level when indoors and at night.

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D800 at ISO 1,600

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D3X at ISO 1,600

Nikon D600 versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 1,600

Nikon D600 versus Sony A99 at ISO 1,600

Nikon D600 versus Sony NEX-7 at ISO 1,600

Today's ISO 3,200 is yesterday's ISO 1,600 (well, almost), so below are the same crops at ISO 3,200.

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D800 at ISO 3,200

Nikon D600 versus Nikon D3X at ISO 3,200

Nikon D600 versus Canon 5D Mark III at ISO 3,200

Nikon D600 versus Sony A99 at ISO 3,200

Nikon D600 versus Sony NEX-7 at ISO 3,200

Detail: Nikon D600 versus Nikon D800, Nikon D3X, Canon 5D Mark III, Sony A99, and Sony NEX-7

Nikon D600 Print Quality

Excellent 30 x 40 inch prints from ISO 50 to 400; ISO 6,400 images look good at 11 x 14; and ISO 25,600 images make a good 5 x 7.

ISOs 50/100/200 images look excellent at 30 x 40 inches, with a very natural appearance all around. These also make for great wall display prints up to 40 x 60 inches.

ISO 400 also looks great at 30 x 40, nice color, great detail, no sign of noise or noise suppression artifacts.

ISO 800 images show a very slight hint of luminance noise in the shadows at 24 x 36, but if you didn't see the lower-ISO images you'd never notice. Amazing print size for this ISO.

ISO 1,600 shots show a slight pattern of both luminance and chrominance noise in the shadows, but you have to look closely to make it out, even at 20 x 30 inches. A strange moiré pattern becomes stronger in the red leaf swatch, likely due to the sub-pixels picking up the fabric pattern at this resolution. 16 x 20 is quite good here.

ISO 3,200 shots at 16 x 20 inches start to show a light grain pattern in the shadows. Close inspection also reveals light chrominance noise in the gold and yellow bottles of our Still Life target, mostly speckles of red and green. 13 x 19s are very good here.

ISO 6,400 images are amazingly good at 11 x 14. Again, this is quite high for ISO 6400!

ISO 12,800 prints have slightly pumped color and a louder grain pattern, but the resulting prints still look good at 8 x 10 inches.

ISO 25,600 prints are a bit rough at 8 x 10, but look quite good at 5 x 7.

The Nikon D600 turns in a very good performance, with even application of noise suppression across all elements. There is a slight trace of moiré in the red leaf swatch, which suggests Nikon used a weaker low pass filter, but it also handles that swatch as good or better than most of the cameras we have tested (many of which tend to render it as soft).  With a full-frame sensor at a price point well below most others, the D600 turns in an amazingly strong performance in the image quality department.

Nikon D600 Dust Issue

In the course of our regular and lab shooting, we found the same dust reported elsewhere on the Web, with primarily dark flecks of dust appearing in the upper left corner of images. Having shot well over 1,000 images, we cleaned the sensor with the Copper Hill Wet/Dry Kit (our attempts to blow off the dust with a Giottos Rocket Air Blaster had little effect), and shot a few hundred more. What appeared after that looked more like drops of oil than dust or paint. They were concentrated on the left side, with a smaller cluster on the right, as you can see in the image below, whose levels were adjusted to reveal the dust more clearly (to see the unmodified image, see image YDSC_5416.JPG).

As has been reported elsewhere, we suspect the issue will go away over time. It's a shame that this mars the image of an otherwise good camera, but it appears to be a real issue that will face most Nikon D600 owners: You'll have to clean the sensor a little more often than the average digital SLR, so be sure to learn how to clean your sensor. It's important to remember that every digital SLR will collect dust over time. Because this issue seems to involve oil as well as possible paint flecks, we recommend a wet cleaning to get it all removed. The Copper Hill Wet/Dry kit works pretty well.

In the Box

The retail package contains the following items:

• Nikon D600 body
• Nikkor AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lens if bought as a kit
• Lithium-ion battery 7v 1900mAh EN-EL15
• Quick charger MH-25
• USB cable UC-E15
• LCD monitor cover BM-14
• Rubber Eyecup DK-21
• Strap AN-DC8
• Eyepiece Shield DK-5
• Body Cap BF-1B
• Hot-Shoe Cover BS-1
• Nikon ViewNX 2 CD-ROM

Recommended Accessories

• Large capacity SDHC/SDHX memory card. These days, 8GB is a good tradeoff between cost and capacity, but if you plan to capture many movie clips, 16GB Class 6 should be a minimum. We recommend a UHS-I compliant card for best burst-mode performance.
• Camera case
• Some sharp lenses
• Accessory flash
• Extra EN-EL15 battery
• MB-D14 Battery grip

Nikon D600 Conclusion

Put simply, the Nikon D600 is very much like a D7000 with a full-frame sensor. Nikon drew on the extremely popular design when building the D600. Its 24.3-megapixel sensor was the first available for under $2,100 body-only, followed closely by the Canon 6D's 20.2-megapixel design for the same price. Since many balked at the D800's 36.3-megapixel sensor, it makes good sense for Nikon's consumer FX camera to stick with 24.3.

Smaller and lighter than the D800 and D700, the Nikon D600 is still bigger than a D7000. It's hard to hide that large, bright pentaprism without adding a bit of height. The D600 is wider too, but it has great heft and a good grip. Controls are well-placed for the D7000 upgrader too, with only a few additional buttons and control substitutions. The Movie Record button on top and a new Still/Movie switch are the main changes.

Just like the D7000, shooting with the Nikon D600 is just plain fun. Straightforward design, a big bright viewfinder, responsive AF and a quiet shutter all add up to a great experience, one where the camera gets out of the way and you can focus on composition.

Shooting in low light was even easier than expected, producing well-balanced images in most circumstances. Daylight shooting was just as easy: Shooting in Program and Aperture priority yielded great results, and any tweaks needed to make were just a button or dial away, usually without having to dig into the menus.

A few button positions frustrated our pro reviewer, particularly the second Function button, which was out of reach compared to the same button on his pro Nikons. The recent change to Live view control is also a little irritating, but that's more for reviewers to lament than a camera owner. It becomes important, though, if you'll be working with both cameras, as many advanced shooters do. Flash shooters like the Strobist also lamented the lower X-sync speed of 1/200 second. It's a legitimate concern, and those interested in faster flash sync speeds should save a little longer for a D800.

But by far the biggest problem with the D600 is this dust and oil issue that also affected our review unit. Widely reported on the Internet, it seems the shutter mechanism is splattering the sensor with oil, and perhaps paint is even peeling off and joining the oil to prevent the D600's dust-reduction system from removing the spots. Nikon has acknowledged the issue, but no fix is yet available. The problem seems to abate after a few thousand shutter actuations, so there's hope. The dust and oil we've seen is light and not particularly noticeable in most images. We had to enhance our images to show the spots, but results vary. It's quite likely most D600 owners will do well to learn how to clean their sensors.

On the video front, the Nikon D600 offers a lot more features than its predecessors, including Full HD, full manual exposure, manual audio level control, external mic jack, and a headphone jack for monitoring the audio, great news for videographers. We were a little disappointed with the moiré and aliasing artifacts thanks to a weak low-pass filtering algorithm in the video engine, but we're also seeing similar artifacts from other cameras. We liked having full control over exposure, as well as so many frame rate options. Even cooler was the ability to save single frames from video as a JPEG. See our video page for more on the D600's video capabilities.

Overall, though, our experience with the Nikon D600 was quite positive. It's an excellent digital SLR with plenty of years of Nikon engineering in its design, and it shows. We have no trouble recommending it highly, making it a Dave's Pick!

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$1830.28

24.5 MP

Also has viewfinder

Similar size

D600 vs D780

Sony A77 II

$1198.00 (59% less)

24.3 MP

Also has viewfinder

9% smaller

D600 vs A77 II

Pentax 645Z

$4845.43 (61% more)

51.4 MP (53% more)

Also has viewfinder

42% larger

D600 vs 645Z

Nikon D7200

$1096.95 (73% less)

24.2 MP

Also has viewfinder

19% smaller

D600 vs D7200

Nikon D6

$0.00

20.8 MP (17% less)

Also has viewfinder

46% larger

D600 vs D6

Canon 1DX Mark III

$6499.00 (71% more)

20.1 MP (21% less)

Also has viewfinder

40% larger

D600 vs 1DX Mark III

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